Ice Exorcist
by Warrior Phoenix
Summary: Enlisted to help in purging the world of demons, teenaged exorcist Gray Fullbuster discovers that in the world he knows, no one can be trusted. AU.
1. Freak of Nature

**Author's Note: **_After a super long hiatus, I have decided to be more active on Fanfiction again. I deleted a few of my unfinished, poorly written stories so I could publish new ones, but I saved my more favored Fanfics and my earlier works since I don't have the heart to delete them._

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

**Freak of Nature**

Gray stared at the clock on the wall and cursed its painfully slow progression toward three fifteen. Was the big hand even moving? He slipped his cell phone out of his backpack for cross-reference. Damn. Seven more minutes. It was so like Head Master Makarov to make History the last class of the day. Institutionalized Torture.

"Hey," Natsu whispered from the desk in front of him. "Erza says she wants to hit the cake shop after school, want to come?"

"Maybe." The last thing Erza needed was another slice of strawberry cheesecake.

"Maybe?" Natsu swiveled around to face him. "You have detention or something?"

Before Gray could tell Natsu to shove it, Lucy cleared her throat. "Shut up, you guys. The teacher's going to kill us." She hissed.

Gray glanced at the wizened old woman with fluorescent pink hair sitting motionless at her desk, engrossed in the daily paper. "Live a little, Lucy. Seriously."

Lucy scowled as she slipped her book and pen case into her backpack. "Well, don't come crying to me when Ms. Porlyusica smacks you over the head with her yard stick."

Gray laughed dryly," Sure," he drawled. "Whatever you say."

She sent him a playful glare and sunk back into her seat.

Suddenly, the door of the classroom flew open, and Makarov Dreyar stepped into the room. History class went silent as the short, hardly imposing figure of the school head master strode quickly to Porlyusica's desk, where the teacher sat complacently reading her newspaper.

"Head Master, what a surprise," she said, barely glancing up from her newspaper.

He brought his head down and whispered something into Porlyusica's ear, then straightened up and handed her a folded slip of paper. As her turned to leave, his gaze swept across the classroom, the incline in his neck barely noticeable. Gray's gaze caught Porlyusica's.

It was time.

"Gray Fullbuster." Porlyusica called monotnously as Makarov closed the door behind him. "I have a note for you."

Gray pushed himself to his feet, pencil in tow, twined in his fingers. He took the note and returned to his desk.

"What does the Head Master want with you?" Lucy asked curiously.

The bell saved him from having to respond. Natsu shot to his feet and swung his backpack over his shoulder. "So you coming to the cake shop or not?" he inquired.

He shook his head.

"Well, see ya tomorrow."

He heaved his own backpack over his shoulder. "Yeah," he said absently.

It wasn't until his friends were gone that Gray stole a glance at the note.

_2245 Park Avenue_

_5 p.m._

Suddenly History class didn't seem all that bad.

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><p>Outside, the air was cool but humid, seeming to trap the water of the canals, scented with iron and dirt. It was the sort of weather that made Gray's hair frizzy and tangled. Not that his mind was on his hair: merely allowed him to keep a sort of forcible calm. Thunder rumbled from above him and he quickened his pace to avoid the coming storm.<p>

Gray shivered, but not because of the cold. He read the address off the front of the house - manor, really - double-checking it with the note, almost wishing he was at the wrong address. Yep, this was it.

Fog billowed down the street, temporarily cloaking the mansion. Not that it obscured his vision much. The building itself was rather grand, built out of bricks and turrets that spiraled into thin black spires. Its dark windows stared at him like the eye sockets of a blanched skull. There was a circular drive out in the front, lined with pots of small flowers, circulating a marble fountain of a mermaid. The whole lot was enclosed by a wrought iron gate, etched with strange carvings. Runes.

He touched one of the markings, and an ethereal golden light shined through. He instantly drew away.

What was he thinking? He could turn around and sprint back towards the cake shop, where Natsu, Lucy, and Erza - mainly Natsu and Erza - were probably on their tenth slice of cake as they muddled through algebra and fractions. That's where he belonged, not here, in front of this creepy mansion.

Maybe what had happened was all a fluke. A hallucination. Some peculiar prank Natsu had pulled on him. Maybe right now, he could prove to himself that he really wasn't a total freak of nature.

Or not.

The rune flared up again, this time an icy blue color, and the iron gate swung open with a windy shriek that pierced his ears. He sighed and made his way towards the stairs. The fog thickened and now he could hardly see a thing. The air hung in his nostrils like musty water, and for a moment, Gray felt as though he was drowning. He stumbled forward, unsure if he was heading in the right direction. Had the entire mansion vanished? His boot struck the bottom step and his hands snagged the handrail.

Gray kept the corroded metal railing in a death grip as he clambered up the stairs. The fog was everywhere now: stinging his eyes, in his mouth, seeping into his thick white coat. He felt heavy, weighted, like was fog was trying to drag him down the stairs, away from the house, away from whatever lay inside.

The handrail ended. He reached out, half expecting to see the manor dissolved into fog, and was relieved to find his fingertips grazing smooth, hard wood. The moment he touched the door, the fog retreated, dissolving into nothingness as if it had been sucked up into a giant vacuum cleaner.

As he turned back and watched the last wisps dissipate behind him, the door flew open.

"Holy!" he gasped, stumbling backwards.

"Glad you could make it," a voice rumbled from inside. "Please do come inside, it will rain soon."

And standing on the threshold was none other than Head Master Makarov.

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><p><em>AN: This Fanfic is inspired by the Mortal Instrument series and anime/manga D Gray Man. :) - Phoenix_


	2. Blade of Ice

**Author's Note: **_This is by far one of my quickest Fanfic updates. One day after the story was published? This must be a miracle. I wouldn't expect quick updates later on, you've been warned._

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

**Blade of Ice**

The atmostphere of the house was off. The air was condensed; his ears crackled with the change in pressure, and for a moment he felt nauseous. The room seemed to pitch and whirl like a fun house. He felt the floor tilt, and the ceiling and walls pressed in on him, creating angles that could only exist in math class. Furniture bulged around him, doubling in size. He knew it wasn't a real, just a trick of the eye, but still.

It was as if the house wanted him out.

He braced himself against a grandfather clock. He had felt this way once before. It wasn't a good sign.

"Are you alright?" Makarov asked.

Gray pressed a hand to his forehead. "Um, yeah. Just f-"

A shriek ripped through the house. Gray spun around, already on guard as if a horde of demons were rushing through the door, only to find a tabby cat frozen in the hall, back arched, eyes so wide they practically popped out of its furry little head. The cat let out another terrified wail, fur bristling like a pine tree, and bolted past him, through the open door and out into the darkening afternoon.

"Sorry about that," Makarov said, latching the door behind him.

Gray straightened, trying to shake off the dizziness. "It's fine."

Makarov nodded thoughtfully. "If you say so." he turned and shuffled down the hall. "Come."

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><p>The coldness of the room hit Gray even before the smell of burning incense. The vapor of his breath mingled with the cloud of black smoke that hung thickly over a cage draped in a cotton tarp in the center of the room. A swirling miasma of ash and perfume. He grimaced. Porlyusica knelt in prayer at the foot of the bed. She didn't stir as they entered, but continued to mutter under her breath before she leaned back on her heels and made the sign of the cross.<p>

With a heavy sigh, she glanced up. Eyes drifting from Gray to Makarov, and then back to Gray. "You're late, Gray," she scolded, brushing off her thick, black robes.

He almost wanted to go with the "my dog ate my homework" excuse, just to irritate her a little. Porlyusica seemed to be wound up lately. Instead he opted for a noncommittal "Hn,"

She sighed heavily. "Whatever, we are wasting time," she clapped her hands as if to shepherd him along. "I have done all I can, now do your thing."

Makarov cleared his throat and, with a flick of his head drew Gray's attention to the cage, where a young girl lay in a strangled heap, brown hair spread like a fan above her head, a tattered blanket meagerly draped over her crumpled form.

"Shouldn't we move her?" he asked.

"No."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion; then his eyes widened at the realization. "Her?"

Porlyusica sighed. "Can you not tell? She's contained in a cage, numbskull."

Oh had thought it would just be the house, not a living, breathing person. Of course he had exorcized demons that had possessed people, but only once. And that had gone terribly wrong. The victim had nearly died.

This was something for Head Master Makarov and Porlyusica to tackle, not him.

"Should I prepare the supplies?" Gray asked, he knew it was mostly unnecessary with his power, but he wanted to delay the exorcism, even for a moment.

"No," Porlyusica snapped testily. "Now, whether you like it or not, vanquish the demon. Or I'll be vanquishing you."

He shuddered at the thought. "Okay, okay, there's no need for the vanquishing of humans."

Porlyusica's eyes narrowed. "Let's begin, shall we?"

And then a high-pitched ringing filled the air.

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><p>"Gray isn't picking up," Lucy sighed, laying her phone down on the café table. "I wonder where he is."<p>

"Probably detention or something," Natsu shrugged. "He's quite the delinquent."

"Says Natsu Dragneel, straight D student, sent to detention ten times in a row." Lucy muttered under her breath.

"Guys!" Erza snapped. "Are we going to finish our Algebra or not?"

Natsu shrunk away in his seat. "Y-yeah, totally," he snagged a pencil from his pen case. He forced a grin, "See? totally doing math."

Lucy sighed and dialed Gray's number again.

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><p>Gray could feel his own voice reverberating in his ears. "I command you, unholy spirit, to relinquish your hold on this servant of God."<p>

He desperately wanted to rush over to his backpack in the corridor and answer his phone. He needed to talk to someone and pretend that he was never an exorcist, surely that would calm him. It didn't even matter if it was that damned idiot Natsu. He just needed someone to talk to.

The girl's eyes flew open, and black, sullen pupils scanned the room, resting briefly of each of it occupants before returning to Gray. They were not the bright eyes of a young girl, but hooded and narrowed, like a monster taunting its prey. Her lips contorted into a grin, arching her spine with a wet tearing sound. Blood oozed from the edge of the cage, sizzling when it met the carpet, suffusing the air with the scent of burning flesh.

Gray nearly choked on the next words. "As an Exorcist and servant of thy Lord, I command you to obey me, unclean spirit."

"Obey?" She seethed, head weaving back and forth like a snake. "Never, never shall I obey Exorcists-s-s." With a murderous growl, the demon flung the girl's body against the cage, and then again. A rhythmic clanging that drove Gray mad.

And then the cage snapped open.

Noises exploded into the air. A deafening chorus of snarls and screams, wails and moans. The floor throbbed and he felt as if it would give away right beneath him. The demon lurched out of the remnants of the cage, eyes dripping with a black ooze, its sweet carrion breath spewing between sharpened canines.

"Concentrate," Porlyusica ordered. "Remember, they cannot harm you."

As if in response, a raspy, barking laugh echoed through the room, followed by a torrent of air coming from the wall behind the cage. Photographs and perfume bottles flew off the dresser and crashed onto the floor in a mess of broken glass and splintered wood. The lights flickered, fighting desperately to remain lit, casting a myriad of shadows on the floor.

Gray braced himself to speak again, "I command-"

_Foolish Exorcists-s-s!_ It interjected. It was the voice of many - a dozen voices of different pitch and timbre, all speaking in sync - and it came from the wall, the ceiling, the floorboards in a taunting snarl. _We fear you not! You cannot banish us!_

And then Gray felt his power surge through his veins like white fire. A tingling sensation that emanated from his fingertips, wild-firing through his body in waves. His skin began to sting with a thousand needle-like shocks, a feeling of coldness settling against his ribs. Amidst the chaos, he heard his phone go off again, but this time, he didn't flinch. He might as well finish the exorcism.

With blinding speed he shot across the room, pinning the demon to the ground. Ice flared from his fingertips, latching its hands to the ground. It howled angrily, ice splintering across the floor as it freed itself from the icy cuff. It lunged at Gray, he dodged, at it hit the wall, claws raking long furrows in the wallpaper. It stormed over the broken perfume bottles and picture frames, spider-webbing the hand mirror that lay discarded on the ground. It flung it self at Gray in a flurry of snarls and vicious cuts.

And then it was struck with a blade of ice, and the girl shuddered and fell limp in his hands.

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><p><em>AN: I ate sushi as I wrote this chapter, so I was half-distracted. Yeah, great excuse for Writer's Block Phoenix, great excuse. - Phoenix_


	3. Among the Shadows

**Author's Note: **_Someone must have found a four-leaf clover because I NEVER update this fast. But perhaps it is because it's the weekend. I wouldn't push your luck._

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

**Among the Shadows**

"Come now, Gray. You really should be getting home. It's getting rather late." Makarov said.

That was it? He banished a demon and now he was just supposed to go home and do his history homework?

"But-" he started, and then he stopped himself. But what? But, how do I get rid of my crazy powers? That didn't seem like an appropriate question at the moment. He decided not to say anything.

Makarov walked up to him. "I know this is all very strange, but we will talk tomorrow, all right?"

"Okay." He nodded. Now he'd have to wait till the next day to have his quadrillion and one questions answered. "Thanks, Head Master, Ms. Porlyusica." He walked down the hall, grabbed his backpack, and was gone.

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><p>Gray planted his forehead against his locker as he slowly dialed the combination. He felt deflated. Yesterday's exorcism had really drained him, and he felt as though he hadn't slept in days. Oh why couldn't he just be a normal high school student? Trying to get perfect grades, worrying about late assignments, studying for tests, all that sounded better than banishing demons for a living.<p>

But then again, it was not like his school life was luxurious either.

His grades were average, mostly B's, the lowest a C+ and the highest an A-, he never really had late assignments, and there were five tests coming up next week. He groaned internally. High school was terribly dull and grey.

"Where were you?"

Gray snapped his head up to find Natsu leaning against the next locker, arms folded across his chest, Lucy trailing behind him.

"Um..." Just how did one explain to his friends that he went to a creepy mansion on the other side of town to banish demons? "I was... studying, studying for our History test."

Natsu sunk dejectedly to the floor. "Aw, I thought you got detention."

"How kind, Natsu." Gray drawled, casually opening his locker.

Lucy, however, didn't seem to buy it. She planted a hand on her hip. "Gray, we don't have a History test next week. We just had it last week, remember?"

His back went frigid. "I meant Science. Studying for our Science test." He lied, beads of sweat rolling down his neck.

She sighed and decided to let it slide. "Whatever you say, Gray." she sighed.

The bell rung and Gray slunk away from his friends as naturally as he could. Next was 4th Hour, Study Hall. And that meant two things. A) Stay in Ms. Porlyusica's room and study or B) Go to the library and study. Weighing his options, he decided to pay Head Master Makarov a visit instead.

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><p>Gray rapped softly on the door of Head Master Makarov's office and was answered with an immediate "Come in."<p>

He slipped into the office to find Makarov writing at his ornately carved desk. "Hello, Gray." He glanced up and gave a quick nod. "I'm glad Ms. Porlyusica could spare you today."

"Me too." Any excuse to get out of his Study Hall - the teacher's must have been crazy to put Natsu, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue in the same class.

With the tip of his pen he gestured for him to sit, then continued scribbling away at his desk. Gray eased himself into a brown leather chair and patiently waited for him to finish.

Head Master Makarov's office was cluttered and cramped, yet over the past few weeks Gray had come to find it rather comforting. The creamy white carpeting, the heavy reddish brown wood of his desk and bookcases, the paperweight shaped like a dove, the small lamp in the corned casting blue, yellow, and green shafts of light onto the ground. Even the heavy scent - a mix of ink and candle wax - marked a place of refuge, a place where someone understood exactly what he was going through. Makarov was the only one who did.

Makarov finished up, carefully closing the journal in which he had been writing, and slipped it into his desk drawer. "Shall we discuss Yesterday's Exorcism?"

"Please." Finally, his questions would receive answers.

"You did very well with your second human possession."

"Thanks."

"But you still need to work on your focus before we can tackle a more complicated possession."

Focus. He hated that word. "Oh."

"Gray, if you are to succeed in this career, you must learn to focus." Makarov said.

Career? Exorcism was going to be his career? He tightened his grip on the armrest of the chair to avoid yanking out all his hair on the spot. "Career? I don't thin-"

"That being said," Makarov barreled on, ignoring his protest. "you possess a remarkable talent, I've never met anyone with your abilities."

"You haven't?" Gray sighed internally, was he really all alone in this?

The Head Master shook his head. "Nope. The only known Exorcist to use supernatural abilities - or as we like to call them, Magic - to banish demons was Zeref."

That wasn't particularly comforting. Zeref had been an Exorcist at one point, one of the greatest into he world. But darkness fell upon him and he succumbed to the depths of Hell. Or so the Exorcism books told him.

"Why?" Gray asked. "Why me?"

Makarov stroked his chin. "That is rather difficult to answer. I guess you could consider it a gift."

Banishing demons was a gift? Some gift. Did it come with happy-face wrapping paper and a nice red bow too?

"Your ability to could help many people, Gray." Makarov spoke. "And it would certainly aid in the recent increase in demons."

Gray nearly tipped out of his chair. "Increase?"

He nodded solemnly. "Normally, it is natural for demon possessions to increase every once and a while. But the numbers usually build to a climax. This time, however, it seems that the number is rapidly rising."

The two were silent for a moment before Gray spoke again. "Head Master, what if I don't want this power?" he blurted out. "What if I want to go back to being what I was before?"

Makarov titled his head to one side. "And what exactly was that?"

Gray sighed. "Normal?"

"Normal? Oh, Gray." Makarov fell silent. He seemed at a lost for words. "I thought you enjoyed Exorcism."

Gray shrugged. "I guess so," it was half true. Sometimes he enjoyed banishing demons, the exhilarating feeling of his power pulsing through his veins, but that sounded as if he needed to be placed in an asylum. Most of the time he just wanted to live a normal life.

The next bell rang, and Gray forced himself to stand up. His legs still felt weak from the Exorcism.

"Next week then, shall we?" Makarov said as Gray shuffled toward the door. "Unless something comes up?"

"Sure."

"Well then, see you soon."

* * *

><p>"...and if a dominant Allels is combined with a recessive Allels, the offspring takes on the phenotype of the dominant trait..."<p>

Gray sighed, propping his head up with his free hand. Science class had never been this boring before. He usually enjoyed it. Maybe the whole "your-future-job-will-be-exorcizing-demons" thing had gotten to him. He straightened himself, determined not to be dragged down by the hidden world of banishing demons.

There was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around. "What do you want, Natsu?"

"Move your head will ya?" Natsu seethed. "I can't see a damn thing!"

"Grow taller then." Gray retorted and turned back to his notes, Natsu's furious cussing ringing in his ears. He dotted the last period and set his pencil down. Two more hours until he could go home.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to envision something normal and happy. But all that came up was the demon speaking through the girl's body, the cage snapping open, blood staining the carpet, and him impaling it with a blade made of ice. He worried that the girl had died, but Head Master Makarov assured him that she was just unconscious.

The bell rung, nearly making him jump out of his shoes, and he departed from the Science classroom.

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><p>Gray dragged his backpack through the front door and dropped it on the floor mat, then sank to the floor and leaned back, clicking the door into place. He reached up and bolted it. It was only a matter of minutes before his friends would be calling to come over and study or something. Not that he didn't mind, he needed something to take demons off his brain.<p>

He closed his eyes and inhaled slow, deep breaths. The house was so quiet. He was almost glad he lived alone, even if it was in a tiny town home.

The silence was broken by the patter of feet - no, paws - trotting across the hardwood floor in the dining room.

His eyes flew open and swept the room. He thought for sure he'd see an animal of some sort disappearing down the hall. But there was nothing. Just a gentle _swoosh swoosh _from the swinging door that led into the kitchen as if something had just push its way through.

Gray pushed himself to his feet and crept toward the kitchen door. Had Natsu's cat Happy got in somehow? A rat? He slowly pushed the door open and heard the sound of scurrying feet again, this time more of a clacking sound of as the animal padded across the linoleum flooring. It had to be Happy. That damn cat was rather smart, it always managed to raid his fridge and take all his fish. But how had he gotten inside? And more importantly, how was Gray going to get him out?

Gray peeked around the door, but there was nothing there. No cat, no rat. Nothing.

He tiptoed into the kitchen. "Happy," he said. "Here, kitty, kitty. Here Natsu's stupid cat." Okay, maybe that wouldn't work if he called him stupid. That cat understood humans, he was sure of it.

Silence. He checked the pantry, but the door was firmly latched. He checked under the table, behind the trash bins, and even under the sink. No Happy. Had he imagined the footsteps?

Or was it demons?

He cringed at the thought. Banishing demons elsewhere was fine, but having to deal with them in his own home? The world of Exorcists would never leave him alone, would it?

But it was a demon, he was sure he could handle it. He was a trained Exorcist, even if was just a beginner. He stilled himself, drawing on what Head Master Makarov had taught him. He knew he would be able to feel a demonic presence in the air - the heaviness, the oppression, and that strange dizzying sensation of the walls stretching and bending. Nothing. His kitchen felt exactly like his kitchen.

_BRRRRRRRRRRING!_

Gray jumped, his heart pounding in his ears. He crept cautiously towards the phone.

"Hello?"

"We're using your house for studying today," Lucy replied on the other end. "It's your shift."

What a relief! "Okay."

"We'll be there in about an hour,"

_Pat pat pat pat pat. _Gray spun around, searching for the source of the footsteps. Still nothing. Was he losing his mind?

"Gray, did you hear me?"

"Yeah, in an hour."

"Okay, see you then."

Gray still held the phone to his ear even as the dial tone buzzed. His eyes were frozen on the kitchen door, swinging madly back and forth. He slowly set the receiver down, deciding to do something else until his friends arrived.

He read for a while, engrossed in the book, when he heard the same scampering paws across the dining room floor. He continued to ignored it, but every few minutes he'd hear cat again, each time with the same quick trot, scooting down the hall toward his room. He set down his book, got up, and closed every single door in the house: his room, the guest room, the bathroom, the door that led to the garage, and the door that led down to the basement. Closed tight, locking the cat or rat or whatever in one of them.

As soon as he returned to his book, he heard the footsteps again, treading down the hall towards his room.

He bolted from his chair and ran down the hall only to freeze in his tracks halfway. The door to his room was wide open, and from inside he heard a muffled sound.

_MEEEEEEEOW._

He attacked his room, desperate to find the source of the noise. He pulled his bed apart, threw his closet open and dug through piles of socks and shoes. He hauled his desk away from the wall and tore open the cabinets, he even yanked the grate off the heating duct, just in case something had gotten inside.

And then door bell rung.

He left his room as is, not bothering to clean anything up. He answered the door as calmly as he could, trying to act as though he hadn't spent the past hour tearing up the house like a madman. His friends stood in the doorway, and he allowed his shoulder to slacken.

"Sorry it took us so long," Lucy said. "Natsu here had to make up for the broken window by doing some light community service."

Gray looked at his pink-haired friend who was shivering off to the side. "I will never break windows again..."

He raised an eyebrow. And then he eyed the blue cat sitting atop Natsu's head. "Hey Natsu, did Happy happen to get loose earlier?"

Natsu shook his head. "Nope, why do you ask?"

"No reason." He replied casually, but a feeling of anxiety settled against his ribs.

And then something darted out from the shadows.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And here ladies and gentleman, is my attempt at writing horror. I know, such terror. -_-' I tried. - Phoenix_


	4. The Hostility of Porcelain

**Author's Note: **Somebody found another flour-leaf clover, I'm telling ya. Or maybe it was one of those rare days where I actually have inspiration.

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

**The Hostility of Porcelain**

Head Master Makarov was writing in his leather-bound notebook when Gray arrived at his office. Classic. His office was even more cluttered than usual when he walked inside. Boxes upon boxes lined the empty walls, half-unpacked, and plastered with preprinted white and black labels in a language he couldn't understand. The desk was pressed into a corner, jutting out at a slanted angle. The lamp was nowhere to be seen, probably buried amidst the chaos of boxes.

Gray cleared his throat. "Head Master?"

It was as if he shot a gun off in the office. Makarov let out a shriek like a twelve-year-old girl receiving a love letter from her crush and knocked a large pile of books off the corner of his desk.

"Gray!"

Why was he so surprised to see him? "Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

Gray glanced around the office, quickly registering the lack of clock or window. "Eleven thirty. Like you said."

"Really?" He pushed back his chair and fumbled around with the books knocked onto the floor. "Already?"

Sheesh, did the Head Master live in his office too? "Yeah."

"Well then," Makarov began. "What is it that you want to talk to me about?"

Gray bit his lip, yesterday's incident still fresh in his brain. Whatever was in his house had disappeared as fast as it appeared, and Gray had nearly shown his ice powers to his friends. Honestly, all these surprises were not good for his heart. He was going to get cardiac arrest someday. His friends didn't seem to have noticed, and the day carried on fairly normally. Until he went to bed. Whatever animal-demon-ghost thing was lurking in his house had kept him up till Midnight tearing apart the house looking for it; the result being called "Panda" by Natsu for the rest of the day.

"Uh, I think my house is haunted." He said hastily.

Makarov raised an eyebrow. "Haunted?"

"Possessed." Gray shrugged.

"How so?"

"I keep hearing things. Like footsteps." Gray explained. "But I can't seem to find the source of the noise."

"Interesting," Makarov nodded thoughtfully. "And this happened when?"

"Just yesterday."

"Well, I'll try to look into it if I can." The Head Master assured. "Now, it seems we have another exorcism to attend."

Not again. Gray internally groaned. Now he wanted to shut himself in a steel-enforced room until his powers went away.

Makarov scribbled something on a sheet of paper and handed it to Gray. "Make sure to arrive on time now."

Great. Just great.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you're not coming with us?" Natsu said as he, Lucy, Erza, and Gray made their way home after school. "You sick or something?"<p>

"Nah, just got some stuff to do." He replied halfheartedly.

"Well, lately you've had a 'a lot to stuff to do'." Lucy frowned. Damn, Gray forgot just how sharp the blonde was. "Is there something on your mind?"

_Yes, yes there is Lucy. I have the ability to shoot ice from my hands, my house is haunted, and now I have to banish demons after school. _"Not really."

She didn't let it slide this time. "If there's something bothering you, you know you can talk to us." Erza and Natsu nodded in agreement.

He wanted to. He wanted to spill everything. From the demons to his wacko powers to the thing haunting his house.

But he couldn't. He didn't want to drag his friends into this.

"I know. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Well, if he didn't go crazy from banishing demons first.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Gray found himself standing before a dark, ill-favored shop with clouded windows. Through the murky glass he was able to shelves on which displayed a variety of peculiar items - jars in which dead snakes floated, their eyes white and open; dolls whose heads had been removed and replaced with small clocks; and stacked bracelets made of human teeth.<p>

And on the front of the building, displayed in garish bubblegum pink Victorian lettering: _The Lovely Princess Doll Shoppe_

What kind of doll shop had jars of dead snakes? Gray wondered to himself as he pushed open the door, setting a bell somewhere in the shop tinkling.

The inside was no better. A glass case at the front of the store was populated by old, withered dolls. Half of them were bald, sort of, hair painted on their little wooden skulls. They wore a variety of clothing - some more Old Western, some more Victorian - all with a similar look on their faces: painted eyes staring straight ahead, lips puckered and slightly flared like they were cooing. Most of the were chipped, the flesh-colored paint flaking off their faces. They sat at odd angles, necks craned to one side, eyes half-lidded.

Right in the middle of the store sat the largest doll, dressed in a blue calico dress printed with delicate white flowers, and a wooden face that looked like it had been mauled by a dog. Gray glanced away from the doll, then froze. He could have sworn the thing moved. His heart pounded as he tentatively stepped back in front of the case and bent down so his face was level with the doll.

The doll winked.

In a panic, Gray spun around for the door but found himself starting at a wall of dolls. To his left, to his right, all four walls were lined with dolls. Glass cases packed to the brim with round-face dolls; plastic, porcelain, swaddled like infants, dressed like fairies and princesses. Caucasian, African, Hispanic, Asian - a Nation of Terror.

"Gray, glad you could make it." A voice called out. Makarov. He turned to face the Head Master, followed by Porlyusica.

"Y-yeah."

"It seems the owner of this shop has been hearing voices," Porlyusica explained from behind Makarov. "Mostly around the evening."

So that's why the Head Master asked him to come to this creepy place at eight o' clock at night.

"Gray, this possession is a bit more... serious, to put it simply." Makarov said. "To be safe, we have prepared some supplies."

"Understood."

Gray followed the two to the part of the shop lined with salt and candles: their orange and yellow flames reflected in the endless glass display cases, making the entire shop look like it was on fire. Decanters of holy water and oil stood valiantly side by side the candles.

As soon as Gray placed a hand beside the candles, the mood changed in an instant. Pressure built in his ears. He tensed his jaw, ears popping. The new energy continued to grow, centered in the middle of the room. The atmosphere shifted to one side, nearly knocking Gray off his feet. The metallic scent of blood and smoke choked the air. The shop was thrown into an array of bizarre angles.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Gray saw a doll's head spin.

"Dammit," he cussed. Exorcising demons was bad enough. But in a doll shop? Life really hated him.

A whole shelf of dolls tilted their heads towards him. They stared a him, a wall of dead glass eyes.

_Come! Come Exorcist! Come and play with us!_

* * *

><p><em>AN: I hope you can sleep tonight...MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *coughs* Never mind, that last sentence was lame as f***. - Phoenix_


	5. The Messenger

**Author's Note:** _I need some advice on how to make my writing more descriptive and scary, any tips?_

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

**The Messenger**

_"We have heard about you," s_queaked a chorus of high-pitched voices.

Gray's eyes flew open, and his heart nearly leapt into his throat. Every doll in shop was staring right at him.

_"We know who you are. We know who you are. We know who you are, Exorcist." _the dolls sang.

"Focus." Porlyusica said calmly from behind him. "Pretend they aren't there."

Yeah. Just pretend they aren't there. Real easy when creepy dolls possessed by Satan are staring at you.

_"A Recidivist is here! What fun! What fun!"_

A Recidivist? Where had he heard that before?

_"We have defeated you. Defeated you," _the dolls taunted. _"Thy Master is strong."_

Gray spun around. The whole shop was alive, hundreds of dolls jittering and squirming behind their glass cases. Heads spinning, eyes blinking, limbs flailing in their dainty dresses. A childlike giggling rippled through the room. The dolls all laughed in sync, flashing their perfect white, wooden teeth.

_"Defeated the Recidivist." _the dolls taunted. "_Defeated the traitors."_

"Traitors?" Gray called out in confusion. "What traitors?"

Makarov's voice sounded small amidst the dolls' chanting. "Gray, are you all right?"

The giggling crescendoed, then abruptly cut off. _"TRAITOR! TRAITOR! TRAITOR!" _the dolls shrieked, jostling the glass cases that contained them. _"ONE OF US! ONE OF US! YOU ARE ONE OF US, EXORCIST!"_

Gray clamped his hands over his ears. One of them? How could he be one of them, something so evil and twisted, something that wasn't even a part of his world? "I'm not! I'm not one of you."

_"LIAR! LIAR! THE RECIDIVIST LIES!"_

He felt as though he was drowning under the voices. They swelled in volume and crashed over him in waves. His legs buckled and his body sank to the floor. Why wasn't his power working? Where was the familiar feeling of power rushing through his veins?

_"WE WILL DESTROY YOU! WE WILL DESTROY THE RECIDIVIST!"_

"Shut up!" he screamed. Gray pushed with his legs like he was power lifting a heavy weight. With a withering effort, he lurched upward, shoving the voices away. "SHUT UP!"

Silence.

Gray slumped forward, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He really was losing it.

"Begin the exorcism," Porlyusica ordered stonily.

Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking.

He laid a hand on the nearest display case. "Tell me what you know," he might as well get some information out of these damned things. "Or I will banish you."

Chaos erupted in the _Tiny Princess Doll Shoppe. _Hundreds of dolls leaped to their feet and began to twitch and lurch in their display cases. Gray felt like he was going to be sick.

_"Thy Master is strong! The Recidivist cannot banish us!" _the dolls screamed.

"I can, and I will," Gray threatened, voice wavering ever so slightly.

_"The Recidivist is a fool. Thy Master's servants are many! He will destroy you!" _

The sound of tiny plastic and porcelain bodies crashing into glass thundered through the shop as the dolls launched themselves against their glass prisons. Faces and arms, bodies and legs smashed and shattered. The entire shop vibrated, whole display cases lurching and tottering away from the wall. The shelf on which Gray rested his hand gave a sickening crack as the glass splintered into a thousand fragments. Dolls landed in the strangled piles of lace, cloth, and perfect curls, lurching up slowly like robots. Their limbs jutted out mechanically, stumbling beneath their finery.

_"Gray Fullbuster."_

He whipped around and watched the doll clothed in the blue calico dress - the one that had winked at him - stand up and place its wooden hands against the glass.

_"Gray Fullbuster." _the doll repeated.

"How did you know my name?"

The doll inclined its head. _"He told me."_

"Who? Your master?"

_"I have a message," _the doll said.

"What is your name?" he asked. In Exorcism, it was key to know the demon's name in order to banish them.

_"Sabriel."_ The doll replied, which was strange. Most demons refused to give their name. _"I have a message for Gray Fullbuster."_

"What is it?"

_"The messenger was sent. His warning not delivered. You must find the messenger._

"Messenger?" he inquired.

"_Find the messenger."_

"I don't understand."

With a shrill cry, the doll thrust its wooden arm into the case, cracking the glass door. _"YOU MUST FIND THE MESSENGER BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!"_

"Holy shit!" Gray exclaimed, shooting a net of ice out at Sabriel. It let out a shrill cry, in which the rest of the dolls froze in their glass cases, shuddered violently, and collapsed into silence.

* * *

><p>"Gray! Earth to Gray!"<p>

"...Huh-wha?" he mumbled, squinting to make out the person next to him. "Lucy?"

She sighed. "You're hopeless Gray. You've been asleep for the past five minutes."

"Oh?" he glanced around the room. Everyone was staring at him. Life just loved him didn't it?

The teacher, a short, svelte woman with wild auburn hair - Ms. Kirnberger or something - glared at him, glasses riding up her nose.

"See me after class, Fullbuster." She ordered.

He nodded obediently and turned his gaze toward the window to avoid eye contact with the other students.

History class went on smoothly for the rest of the hour, with him managing not to drift off for the rest of the hour. The bell rung and he slowly meandered his way through the departing students to Ms. Kirnberger's desk.

She pursed her lips into a thin red line when he came up to her, and he couldn't help but think of the dolls back at the Tiny Princess Doll Shoppe.

"You've been falling behind in your assignments lately," she said calmly. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"No ma'am." He responded. And that's when he heard them. Softly at first, a soft snickering buried within the walls. It grew louder, and louder, until the noise flooded his ears.

_"Find the messenger_. _Find the messenger. Find the messenger." _they chanted. _"Before it is to late. To late. To late."_

Ms. Kirnberger regarded him with blank eyes. "Is something wrong, Gray?"

"No."

She dismissed him and as he turned to leave, he caught her green gaze linger on him for a moment, and then disappear.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Kirnberger? How did I come up with that? *shrugs* - Phoenix_


End file.
